What's a theme?

It's sometimes called the lesson, moral, or main idea behind the story. But theme is really more than that. In literary terms, the theme is the "take-away" value of the story. It's what the reader is left pondering after they've read the last word.

I've taken the following from the writing blog of Gayle Martin, because she explains theme quite succinctly. http://www.gailmartin.com/

Theme weaves through the plot, setting, and characters in a translucent thread that the reader extracts from his own experience or values. It communicates something deeper to readers than plot or story. Theme triggers an emotional response from readers, and without an emotion reaction, the story’s theme is usually weak or non-existent, or too vague to be comprehended.

Theme presents an infinite truth that makes a powerful impact on readers. It is often tangled in the goal of a the protagonist. It triggers emotion which is what clings to readers once the pages on the book have been closed and makes the story worth reading. Emotion has power to transport your story beyond entertainment as the them provides the impact of a universal meaning to your story.

This may sound vague, but theme is abstract, providing the heartbeat of your story. It cannot be forced. Author’s bring it to life by allowing the story’s truths to slip into the action, dialogue, introspection, and soul of the characters.

Some try to summarize this process by explaining it this way. Ask yourself, what did you learn from this novel? How did it touch you? Joy Cagil author of a blog on fiction writing suggests you ask this. What is the protagonist’s biggest decision to resolve the story’s conflict? These questions are about as close as you can get to defining theme. It is the underlying principle that motivates the protagonist to reach his goal, and it is a truth—belief or perspective—which most people hold in common.

Common themes might be that good defeats evil, money causes corruption, love makes the world go round, lies begat lies, gossip destroys, success is not measured by a bank account, jokes can backfire, friends stand by your side, people were not meant to be alone, freedom is better than servitude, love conquers all. I’m sure you can think of many, many others.

Think of novels you’ve read that have stuck with you and ask yourself why do you still remember this story? Besides plot, what message or value or truth did it leave you with? How did it impact your emotions? What did you take away with you when the book was finished? When you find the answer, you’ve most likely identified the theme of the novel.

Publishing Update

One of my short stories was accepted for publication by a syndiated site that sells to Christian publications. Click here to read The Unwelcome Friend .
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Do I Have to Know My Genre?

If you're new to the world of professional writing, you may have stumbled a few times over the "genre" question, and thinking that was the least of your concerns, you passed over it.

Well, back up! It's more important than you think.

"I write lots of different things. I have a Young Adult novel, a Chick Lit novella, and a detective series in mind. I'm just too diversified to be stuck in one genre!"

If you've ever said or even thought that, go ahead and deny it right now. By the end of this article, you'll be glad you refused to admit it. It's the flashing light that signals an amateur.

Genre is where creativity meets business. And despite your passion for creative expression, business is what drives this industry. Like it or not, you have to face the business side of writing if you expect anyone else to ever have the privilege of reading your thoughts.

You should try all kinds of writing at first. Let your creativity flow. Write book after book, but put them away and start on another. Those are called "starter books" and they help you learn the craft of fiction writing. But they most likely will never see print. That's okay. Every successful writer has them.

Chances are that during all that writing, your own voice was beginning to emerge and an underlying theme began to creep into your work. Maybe no matter how the book began, someone always gets murdered and your hero has to figure it out. You may have started out writing a light-hearted romance, but lo-and-behold, your comical sidekick gets shot and the whole thing flips on you! If so, your genre may be suspense or crime writing. If your characters just can't stop falling for each other no matter the circumstance, then maybe you're a romance writer.

The importance of choosing a single genre at first can't be overstated. The purpose of your first few books is to build a reading audience. If you pick up a Dean Koontz book, you want high suspense. If it turned into Alice In Wonderland, you'd be offended and probably never pick up another Dean Koontz. Publishers and bookstore owners know this and they don't want to take a chance on spending thousands of dollars producing and stocking your book only to have you change on them for the next one.

So sticking with a genre at first isn't limiting you. It's helping you build a fan base. Once you're wildly popular, you can take a chance on another kind of book, but often it is not nearly as successful as your first genre. Readers don't like surprises like that. They read your books because they know what to expect and like it.

So have you thought about genre? Don't be afraid to experiment with all kinds of writing. Your strong points will emerge the more you write and you won't mind limiting yourself to what you're best at until you've proven yourself a master at it. Your readers won't mind either.

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More Purple Prose

If you liked the literary train wrecks in the last post, you'll enjoy these! I must admit, I was tempted to use a couple of them--but I resisted. And so should you.

Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man."

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 PM traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 PM at a speed of 35 mph.

(My personal favorite!) The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.

They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

The thunder was ominous sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.

Her thoughts tumbled in her head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red crayon.

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What NOT to Do

Figurative language is a vital writing tool. Comparison, analogy, personification, and metaphor are all important aspects of creative writing.

But sometimes we can get carried away! Below are some examples of what NOT to do as you polish your writing. Don't use any of these if you expect your writing to be taken seriously.

• The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

• McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Heft bag filled with vegetable soup.

• Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.

• From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eeirie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7:00pm instead of 7:30.
  
• Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.

• Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:rnl.flw:a>stpncant but gets instead T:rnl.flw:a>stpncanti by mistake.

• Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

• He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

• The hailstones leaped from the pavement just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

I'll post more of these gems later.

Not again!

If you've made any attempt to have your work published, you have without a doubt encountered rejection. Rejection is a major part of a writer's life--no matter who you are. It's part of the business and no one escapes.

As a bit of encouragement for those of you wondering if you've received more rejections than anyone alive, I'm running these stats today on some names you may recognize. Take heart and keep trying!

• Jack London received 60 rejections before he sold his first story.



• George Orwell was told of Animal Farm, "It is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S."



• Stephen King was told: "We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell."



• William Faulkner was told: Are you kidding? I can't sell this!"



• Of his novel The Torrents of Spring, Ernest Hemingway was told: "It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish this."



• The authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul weathered a whopping 140 rejections before finding a publisher to take a chance on their idea.

• And my personal favorite, Gone With the Wind, received 38 rejections before Margaret Mitchell found a publisher.

So take heart as those rejection letters pile up in the corner. You're in good company!
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What? Another change?

The world of publishing just keeps getting more complicated. The frequent explosions of new reader technology from Apple, Amazon, and other Internet gurus have traditional publishers twisting nervous hands.

New areas are exploding in property rights, copyrights, and media rights keeping agents, writers, and editors on their toes. What this will mean for the future of books is anybody's guess at this point. The technology-saturated public is coming to expect more than just paper and ink and many sites are now able to deliver tantalizing video trailers, mini-movies, and clips that were once reserved for cover copy.

My agent, Rachelle Gardner, has a very informative post on Monday's blog. Click here to learn more.

Whatever the outcome with iPad, Kindle, Sony Readers, and the soon-to-follow copycats the way we read is definitely changing.

But one thing won't change. There will always be a market for a great story.